shifted_logs | It's always the little things you fail to notice

Entry tags:

It's always the little things you fail to notice

Characters: Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones
Location: Jack's office
Time: Post reality-merge.
Summary: Jack and Ianto's realities have begun to merge. Problem is, neither of them realize it.
Warnings: It's Jack and Ianto in Jack's office. Apart from plot-things, that should be a warning all it's own.

Jack walked into his office, throwing a folder on his desk as he passed it by, not even bothering to stop until he reached the back of his office, hanging up both his coat and his gun holster. He was still recovering from his little insomnia issue, and despite the fact that his immortality was back his body still seemed to require almost as much sleep as a human.

He'd already sent both Gwen and Ianto home for the night, finished his work for the day, and checked the Rift monitor for any signs of activity. There was none. He'd even finished assembling the new bed down in his living quarters; telling Ianto he'd finally gotten tired of his old bunk had seemed to be enough of a reason for the younger man.

Suppressing a yawn, he pulled off his braces, toeing off his shoes before laying down on the couch, settling down for a few hours of sleep. He was going to learn to deal with his nightmares even if it killed him.

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Ianto didn't register any difference in the office at first, working on autopilot more than anything. The first he noticed anything was when he started hanging up his jacket, only to notice Jack's familiar greatcoat already hung there. He frowned, glancing round the office suspiciously.

Jack hadn't left behind his greatcoat when he'd left them, but according to Jack he'd spent the entire year on the Valiant. Even if he had come back Ianto was sure he would've announced his presence. Considering he and Tosh had spent most of the day in the main part of the Hub it would've been difficult to miss him. But his coat was here. So was his Webley. And sure enough Jack was there, appearing to have fallen asleep on the couch.

His first thought was that he should call Tosh, but found he couldn't, instead finding himself unable to look away from Jack's sleeping form.

Jack, unaware of Ianto's presence, continued to doze on the couch. He would shift every so often, frowning slightly, but for the most part he simply laid there. His shoes were placed at the foot of the couch, his braces hanging from his pants limply. One arm was crossed over his chest, the other serving as a sort of pillow.

Edited 2008-07-16 21:13 (UTC)

Ianto hesitated, before tentatively approaching the couch and crouching next to him. He watched him for a few moments longer, glancing at the door of the office before he slowly reached forward to place his hand over one of Jack's.

Jack's eyes shot open immediately, and he quickly sat, moving his hand so that it was gripping Ianto's wrist. He seemed to calm down once he noticed who it was, closing his eyes and letting out a soft yawn. "Ianto, what are you doing here? I sent you home about an hour ago, so don't tell me you've already rested"

Ianto didn't even seem to have heard him, instead continuing to stare at him in disbelief. He struggled for a few moments before finally managing to find his voice. "You're really here."

Jack gave Ianto a curious look, releasing his wrist and instead holding Ianto's hand in his own. "I've been here all day, still here when you left. Where else would I go?" He spoke slowly and deliberately, studying Ianto's face as he did.

Ianto shook his head, frowning. That wasn't right. Couldn't be. He hadn't seen Jack in months-- not his Jack, anyway. And according to the Jack he'd met on the Plane there was still another three months before the year was over. Jack shouldn't be here.

"You-- he said you were..." he trailed off, motioning vaguely upwards. He wasn't making sense, he was aware of that. But nothing about this situation made much sense.

Jack placed his other hand on Ianto's shoulder softly, concern clear on his face. Why would Ianto be surprised that Jack was here? Yes, he'd been sending them both home much earlier than usual lately, but that still gave the younger man no reason to think Jack wasn't simply spending time at the Hub.

"I haven't gone anywhere. And even if I'd stepped out of the Hub for a minute, it's like I would've left for months like before"

He winced at that, unable to help but look a little hurt. His gaze remained confused for a few moments longer, before realisation started to dawn on him. When he spoke again his voice was more disappointed than he'd have liked.

"You haven't come back yet."

It took the hurt look and Ianto's disappointed tone to make things click for Jack. His hand dropped from Ianto's shoulder as a look of realization appeared on his face. "You're still in the Year that Never Was"

Though he tried to hide it, Jack couldn't help the feeling of guilt that was pooling in his gut as he leaned back into the sofa, pulling away completely from the younger man. This wasn't his Ianto, and he was wasn't the Jack he'd been waiting seven months for.

Ianto immediately regretted his tone of voice. Granted merging was something he's been hoping to avoid, but he'd known it would happen eventually. And if the office was the only thing that had changed in the space of two months... maybe the Toclafane weren't something he'd have to worry about after all.

He leaned forwards, taking hold of Jack's hand loosely.

Jack tried to smile at Ianto, but it ended up as more of a grimace. He turned his hand and twined their fingers together. "You really must spend a lot of time here, if the office was the thing that merged. Then again, so do I" His tone was light-hearts, wiling to dismiss any serious implication Ianto's reaction may have had. Regardless of what it meant, that was something Jack was trying not to think about, he really didn't feel like dealing with any arguments with the younger man.

"Where else would I go?" Ianto's main retreats before the Master had taken over had been either the tourist office or the archives. They'd blocked off the tourist office months ago, realising it was the entrance most likely to be found. He didn't go into the archives much anymore. The rest of the Hub was just as quiet as the archives, and he'd found secluding himself down there had just become less and less reassuring as the months went by.

"Can't be all that interesting, spending so much time in my office" It would explain a lot though, including why Ianto had decided to drink from Jack's stash of alcohol, of all things. Of course, this realization only brought on a new wave of guilt, try as hard ad he might to ignore it. "You should be sleeping more comfortably, then; I bought the bed"

Ianto couldn't help but quirk a smile at that. He hadn't really thought Jack would actually go out and buy one. Especially if he wasn't planning on using his living quarters.

"You actually bought a bed, and now you're sleeping on the couch?"

Jack returned the smile easily; that was a good sign, all things considered, right? "Getting to the bed required more effort than I was willing to put forth at the moment. Besides, it was only going to be for a few hours" He actually hadn't been using it as much as he should, if only because on occassions he felt too tired to make it all the way down there, and the couch had presented a suitable alternative.

"Few hours or not, the couch isn't the best place. You don't even have to go that far to get to your bed," he tugged lightly at Jack's hand, hoping he at least sit up. Crouching wasn't exactly comfortable.

Jack didn't sit up, but simply stood altogether. He began to walk towards the hatch that led to his 'room', tugging Ianto along with him. "Then you wont mind trying the bed out now. It's only a Twin because otherwise it would've taken up too much space, but there is enough room for two" Along with the bed, Jack had bought a pair of pillows, a bedsheet, and a blanket; it could actually pass off as a proper bed now, according to Ianto.

Ianto rolled his eyes, halting at the top of the hatch. "What happened to sleeping? Did you even get a few hours?"

Jack turned back to face Ianto, the smile still on his face. "What did you think I was dragging you down there for? If I wanted sex the sofa would've been good enough for that"

Ianto looked as though he was going to respond for a moment, but settled for staring instead. He wasn't convinced Jack had ever dragged him into his living quarters without an ulterior motive before now, so the thought that he might be now hadn't even occurred to him.

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes, tugging at Ianto's hand. "As far as I can tell, my body is currently attempting to make up for all those hours of sleep I avoided. And even if I was dragging you down there for sex, I'd just end up sleeping afterwards" One last tug, and Jack was making his way down the ladder before Ianto had a chance to really reply.

Ianto muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'you deserve it' before pulling his had free, and following Jack down the ladder.

Jack heard him, but decided not tot comment on it for once; he had better things to do right now, such as getting in a bed Ianto would actually approve of. Once he reached the floor he began to tug off his socks, unbutton his shirt and put it aside with his undershirt, then pulled down his pants and fold them as well.

The only reason he bothered with all this rather than just making a small pile on the floor was Ianto; he suspected he'd actually take time to folds Jack's clothes if he didn't just do it himself.

Ianto raised an eyebrow as he glanced over to where Jack was folding his clothes, but resisted the urge to comment. Instead finishing stripping to his boxers, and leaving his own clothes in a pile next to Jack's.

He wasn't adverse to Jack folding his own clothes... it was just unusual. Though definitely behaviour he could get used to.

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